Review | The Full Monty | Manchester Opera House

There is something about Northern humour that makes for a great stage show, but sadly The Full Monty did not live up to this expectation.

In desperate times, six unemployed Sheffield steelworkers conjure up a new way to make some cash – male stripping!

Good friends Gaz (Gary Lucy) and Dave (Kai Owen) are faced with a challenge to please the ladies of Sheffield, so promise to go all the way – the Full Monty.

The boys manage to encourage former boss Gerald (Dinnerladies’ Andrew Dunn) to join the group, with his wife unaware of his lack of a job and money to fund the skiing trip. The famous audition scenes introduces Horse (played by Louis Emerick), the Northern-Soul loving elder who still knows how to move, even with a limp. The audience is left speechless after Guy’s (James Redmond) big reveal of his grande talent.

The show never really got going until Dunn entered, who held the show together through a mixed array of accents and acting skills.

The best moment in the show, ironically, is when Nathan’s (Fraser Kelly) mic switched off during an emotional father and son moment. Kelly didn’t falter and the intensity of the moment was heightened superbly.

If you are looking for a naughty show, then this is it, but as a piece of theatre, it lacks energy. Simon Beaufoy’s smash hit isn’t just about the stripping (even though it seemed that was the only reason some of the ladies were in the audience) but hints some more sensitive topics like body image, suicide and sexuality.

The famous last strip scene got the crowd cheering, and it’s a shame that this wasn’t extended, being one of the best moments in the show.

Even after more than two decades since the iconic film’s release, the Full Monty still manages to please audiences.

The Full Monty runs at the Opera House until February 23 and tickets and information can be found here.